This is the second of two in-depth stories about Nathalie Traller and her fight against cancer. Read the first story here.

Five years ago, a day with the Traller family probably looked like a modern scene from "Leave it to Beaver." Vicki and Nathan Traller worked at Beaverton-area schools (Cedar Park Middle School and Bonny Slope Elementary, respectively) and their daughters, Nathalie and Kelley, played soccer and swam competitively.

In April 2012, Nathalie started to get sharp headaches that refused to abate. Doctors also noticed a heart murmur. An X-ray of Nathalie's chest showed a mass that didn't belong, near her heart. Then Nathalie went to Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where doctors found a second tumor in her brain.

"We got that news and it was horrible," said Nathan Traller.

Vicki Traller quit her job as an instructional assistant at Cedar Park Middle School to care for her daughter, who soon began to feel pain from the growing tumors, which turned out to be alveolar soft part sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

Eventually, Nathalie had to stop playing soccer, and she felt too sick to attend school daily. This school year, she missed a big chunk of her freshman year at Sunset High School.

The Trallers think Nathalie's best hope may be enrolling in a clinical trial, which would give her access to experimental drugs being tested by drug manufacturers. But at 15, she is too young for most clinical trials.

In September, Nathalie's oncologist at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Dr. Suman Malempati, approached drug company Genentech and requested that it grant Nathalie access to its clinical trials through the Food and Drug Administration's expanded access program, also known as compassionate use.

Genentech denied the request. In January, Malempati and the Trallers approached drug makers Merck & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb about their clinical trials. Those requests also were denied.

Genentech said in a statement that it does not grant expanded access for the experimental drug the Trallers are seeking, anti-PDL1, because the company's supply is limited to clinical studies.

"We are still at an early stage of development for anti-PDL1, and our focus needs to be on clinical trials to help ensure we are moving toward getting anti-PDL1 FDA approved as soon as possible for people who need it," the statement read. "And at this time, we don't have enough to provide to anyone outside of our studies. We will continue to evaluate the potential for compassionate use in the future."

For several months now, the Trallers have heard whispers that Bristol-Myers Squibb will soon offer a pediatric trial of an anti-PD1 drug. They would find renewed hope, only to have it dashed when they learned the trial was being pushed back.

The Trallers continue to hope, though they can't afford to wait. The next pediatric trial for the experimental drug is scheduled for September, they said.

They refuse to think about how much time Nathalie may have left.

"To put a number on that is cruel for Nathalie," Vicki said. "I don't think anyone has a good number for anything that we do. We tackle things as they come, and we try to make the best treatment decisions we can."

"We don't know exactly what will help Nathalie," Nathan said, "but we can't be silent about it and hope for the best."

Vicki pointed to the case of Josh Hardy, a 7-year-old cancer survivor in Virginia who contracted a potentially fatal viral infection in February. After a social media campaign targeted at drug company Chimerix, it provided the boy with access to its experimental antiviral drug in March. Josh's health improved and in April he was discharged from the hospital, according to a post on the Save Josh Hardy Facebook page.

How you can help Nathalie

The Trallers are asking for help in several different ways, including writing letters to politicians, tweeting at drug companies and donating money. For details, visit 4Nathalie.com.

The Trallers have launched their own social media campaign, 4Nathalie. Friends and family members have sent hundreds of letters and tweets to politicians such as U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, all Oregon Democrats, asking them to work with pharmaceutical companies and the FDA to provide easier access to experimental drugs to Nathalie and others with few treatment options.

But the FDA and drug companies say they must focus on the bigger picture.

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Yao said pharmaceutical companies often have a limited supply of a new drug they reserve just for clinical trials. "What benefits the entire public is if (a) drug is approved and on the market so everyone can use it," she said.

The FDA must approve any requests for expanded access – which it does 99 percent of the time, according to Yao – but cannot force drug companies to grant expanded access.

There are safety concerns, too. When drugs are still in testing, there are many unknowns, Yao said, such as the correct dosages for children and a drug's long-term effects.

And while drug companies spend a lot of time developing drugs to help people with cancer, the companies are still for-profit businesses, and common cancers such as melanoma, breast cancer and lung cancers have larger markets than rare cancers such as sarcomas.

Speaking about the issues at large, Dr. Malempati said, "They have to find drugs that are going to be marketable."

"It's not that they don't want to treat those patients, it's that they aren't developing drugs specifically for that."

What's more, new drugs in clinical trials aren't always the answer, said Dr. Malempati. Sometimes a new treatment simply doesn't work, he said.

"It's a difficult situation, because you never want to give up on a trial, but the reality is sometimes we don't have treatments for cancers," he said. "It's hard. It's hard for parents to see that and accept that."